Page 68 of Heart Check
“Harper?”
I whirl to see Liv and Miguel just a few yards down the sidewalk. Liv has a garment bag slung over her shoulder, and Miguel’s carrying a box brimming with hats. I haven’t spoken to them much in weeks. Last I heard of Liv, she was texting Marissa about my date with Dawson.
“Hey.” I raise a weak hand in greeting. “How’s the play?”
Liv gives me a death glare worthy of one of Shakespeare’s bloodier tragedies. “Still struggling to properly light the stage.” She jerks her chin toward the hockey arena. “How’re the jocks?”
I wince. I don’t blame her for feeling a little betrayed. I’ve built a reputation on standing up for the underdogs around here, and it must’ve been weird to see me suddenly skating arm-in-arm with the king of the school. “I think they’re kinda stressed too, honestly. Big game coming up.” I attempt a smile. “Mo’ money, mo’ problems, amiright?”
Miguel rubs their nose in a way that might be hiding a smile, but Liv doesn’t budge.
“Listen,” I try, “I’m not going to stop advocating for therest of this school any time soon, okay? But the athletes have dreams too. None of the inequity is their fault. I’m just… expanding my circle of care.”
Miguel raises an eyebrow. “You sure you won’t forget what it was like to not be one of the Hamilton Lakes chosen ones? Even when you’re homecoming queen next year, or whatever?”
I snort. “Unlikely. But trust me, none of the important stuff has changed. Just my perception of a few people I might have judged unfairly.”
After a long moment, Liv nods. “Yeah. I guess that makes sense.” I exhale in relief, but it’s short-lived. “So… you and Dawson?”
I glance at the new facility, remembering my mission. “Kinda rocky right now. But I’m gonna see what I can do about that.” I take another step forward. “See you at the Northview game?”
Liv purses her lips contemplatively. “We’ll see how rehearsals go. See you at opening night?”
“Absolutely.” I grin at her, and she finally grins back.
And then I’m climbing the steps to the arena, ready to put my money where my mouth is.
Inside, it’s way quieter than the last time I was here for the Washington game. Then, the halls had been full of shouting fans and waving foam fingers, the smell of warm, salty pretzels wafting through the air. Today it’s nearly silent, the only sound a few distant voices calling to each other from the rinks.
I pause, frowning as I get my bearings. I know Dawson had practice today—we’d been talking about meeting up atthe diner, before everything went south between us—so is he in the locker room? I definitely don’t want to barge in on a bunch of showering hockey bros. (Though Ryan probably wouldn’t mind.) Maybe I can wait outside. As long as he hasn’t left yet—
“Looking for some more dirt you can use against us?”
I jump at the voice, wheeling to see the absolute last person I want to run into on this particular mission.
Noah’s just emerged from a doorway down the hall, bag of gear slung over his shoulder and eyebrows raised in interrogation.
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m looking for Dawson.” I’m not going to let this asshole get in the way of my grand romantic gesture.
“What do you need from him?” Noah asks, taking a step closer. He’s clearly trying to be intimidating, and even though he’s a despicable smudge on the bottom of my shoe, I have to remind myself not to shrink away.
“I just want to talk to him.”
Noah huffs out a breath and shakes his head. “Sorry, Harper, but he doesn’t need a distraction right now. The Northview game is this week, and we need him at his best.”
“I know.” My heart twists at the idea that I might have kept him from preparing for it—if he’s losing even half the sleep I am over our fight, that can’t be good for his game. But I muster all my courage and speak the thing I really hope is true. “He’d want to see me.”
Noah’s eyebrows shoot up, and he laughs one harsh, humorless bark. “Would he, though? He said something about you two being over. And I hate to be the bearer of badnews, but he didn’t look too bothered about it. Made a great pass two seconds later. Honestly, thank God he came to his senses—you two never made sense, did you?”
His eyes lock onto mine, all my courage bleeding out of me as I stare into that icy blue. Noah may be a jerk, but he knows Dawson much better than I do. We only had a few good weeks together, and that was preceded by literalyearsof hatred.
Is Dawson relieved I’m out of his life? Doing better without me, when I can barely get out of bed?
Noah takes another step forward, and I wrap my arms around myself against the sudden chill in the hallway. “I don’t think he wants to see you, Harper. And frankly, I don’t think he needs someone like you in his life. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Dawson has dozens of girls who’d like totalk to him. And the rest of them… well, they run more in his usual circles, you know? He was probably just trying to get you to stop harassing the team. Or…” He grimaces, as if trying to soften his words. But his eyes glint like ice chips. “He’s a nice guy. Maybe he thought he was doing you a favor by letting you see what this side of Hamilton Lakes is like.”
I suck in a sharp breath, the frigid air of the arena piercing my lungs.
Doing me a favor.
